Captain Geoffrey Massa found the net for Cranes for the first time in over a year as Uganda, ranked 72nd in the world, tamed European side Slovakia (FIFA 25th) in an international friendly Sunday in Abu Dhabi.

With the Nations Cup kicking off in a week’s time, the goal should herald a timely return to scoring for Massa, who last found the net for Cranes in a competitive match during the World cup qualifiers against Togo in November 2015.

This was the third friendly in five days for newly crowned African Team Of The Year Uganda .

Uganda Cranes were beaten 2-0 by Tunisia in their first build-up, beat Slovenia 1-0 in a closed door game on Friday, and for the first time in decades, faced a European nation ranked in the top 30 in the world. Uganda is ranked 72nd in the world.

The Ugandan side are making a return to the Nations Cup Finals after 38 frustrating years. They last appeared in Ghana 1978.